Tag / chicken herb garden

The warmth of summer is upon the gardens of Tilly’s Nest. It seems as though we have had a late start this year as compared to last. The coral bells greet you at the gate as you begin to enter the gardens.

Early hydrangea blossoms begin to bloom and are dotted amongst the gardens. Our soil tends to be quite acidic, so all of our hydrangea blooms have tinges of blue.

Subtle garden sculpture accents the blooms, such as this immortalized shell sculpture.

I am particularly fond of succulents given my Southern California roots. Every chance I get, I incorporate them inside and out.

I love mossy clay covered pots and keeping a natural feel to the gardens.

In my succulent container garden, a bunny hides amongst the leaves. At least, this one doesn’t steal nibbles.

With the rain we have had the last few days, tiny clumps of mushrooms have popped up in the lawn. I like to tell the children that fairies live amongst them. Next month, we are going to create a fairy garden.

An oak leaf and pollen were dancing in the bird bath, as the daylily’s leaves reflected in the water.

The foxglove has the most gorgeous little speckles peeking out from it’s trumpetlike blooms.

The bees too are happy the rain is over, they have been very busy today.

Finally, as we make our way through the garden we reach Tilly’s Nest. The fennel and marjoram are growing nicely and the lovely flowering tree by the coop is done with its show of beautiful white little flowers.

I enjoy gardening very much and love the addition of backyard chickens to the gardens. I believe that gardens and backyard chickens compliment each other beautifully.

Summer is almost upon us. My daughter and I today took a trip to the local garden center to purchase more herbs for our herb garden and our chickens. This year, we have decided to place the herb garden in the mulched beds around and near the chicken coop. We thought it was great idea to plant an herb garden for the chickens.

I was so glad to be home. I know the girls missed me. It’s times like these fantastic homecomings when I wish that they could talk. They had so much to tell me. Despite the lack of words, their love was felt! They even had a good report from the chicken sitter. They all behaved and no one got into any trouble, especially Sunshine.

As I reunited with the girls, I could not help notice their filthy run and coop. A few weeks ago, it seemed like we could not wait to get rid of the seemingly endless rainy days. Now, we are finding ourselves wishing for rain. Pine pollen, a fine yellow dust, coats everything. It accumulates on the cars, lawn furniture, the deck and even the grass. I am wishing for some rain to help wash everything off. I was so desperate that after the girls went in for the night, I took out the hose and rinsed everything off. Streams of yellow ran along the roof shingles and down the supports of the run. It was disgusting but very rewarding at the same time; instant gratification.

Over the next few days, I will begin to harvest the lettuce that I had planted in the early Spring for the girls. The chicken herb garden is almost complete with rosemary, parsley, oregano, thyme, cilantro and lavender. I hope the chickens enjoy this added feature this year. I still have room for more and I will be busy researching what herbs chickens love best. I am excited and I just can’t wait for everything to take off growing in the summer heat!

So that’s what’s been happening around our coop over the past couple days. What have you been up to around yours?